Atlanta Streets Alive returns to Peachtree Street

ATLANTA - Atlanta Streets Alive returned Sunday after a four-year hiatus due to the pandemic.

"When you put something on hiatus like that, you don't know what the reception will be when you bring it back. But, I think the amount of people that came out today just shows how much demand there is for safer, more accessible streets in Atlanta," Rebecca Serna, Executive Director of Propel ATL said.

From midtown to downtown, nearly three miles of Peachtree Street were blocked off Sunday, allowing people to travel by foot and bike instead.

The event first started in 2010.

"Back when we started this initiative, a lot of people were just afraid to ride their bikes in the city because they were afraid they were going to be hit by a car, and so we thought ‘What if we looked at what other cities did?’ I lived in Bogota, Colombia for a year, and seen their open streets, which is every single Sunday," Serna explained. "That experience of being able to access your street, outside of a car, I thought was really transformative."

An ordinance was proposed in 2021 to close Peachtree Street every Sunday, but it never came to fruition.

Still, organizers hope people who attended the event this Sunday are inspired to see how Atlanta could be a more pedestrian-friendly city.

"Many cities around the world – Paris, Los Angeles, New York – they've taken advantage of this opportunity to make sure that the use of public space isn't reserved only for motorists and cars," Soloman Caviness, Commissioner with the Atlanta Department of Transportation, said.

"We can have streets that are designed for people. We just have to come together and make it happen and let our city elected officials and appointed officials know that that's what people want," Serna added.

There are two more scheduled events before the end of the year. The next ones are happening Oct. 22 and Nov. 12. Learn more.